Podcasts: An Overwhelming Amount of Content

The radio can get boring after awhile, the music stations just cycle through the same songs everyday. There was always the highlight of a few talk radio shows, usually on the AM frequencies. But even those may get dull. With the rise of MP3s and the iPod came podcasting. People put out their shows for live streaming or as a downloadable file. Many comedians have moved into this field, as well as many others.

There is likely a podcast for whatever topic you are interested it in. Be it technology, cars, sports, comedy, games, politics, religion, new, health and so on. As the Apple iTunes web pages lists, there are over 150,000 podcast available. What is one to do? There are not enough hours in the day. Even just looking through them all to find a few that you like is a daunting task. I only listen to a couple of shows at the moment, and even keeping up with just two can get overwhelming at times. Downloading them for later listening is my preferred method, but the episodes come up faster than I get to listen to all of them.

It is great that virtually anyone can put out a podcast. Even former radio personalities have moved on to podcasting after the ends of their terrestrial radio shows. Such a great way for them to still reach out to their fans.

How Loud is Too Loud for an MP3 Player?

Claims of hearing loss are now being pointed at MP3 players. But this isn’t an old claim. It has existed since the invention of head phones. Whether they be hooked up to a radio, record player, 8-track player, cassette player, CD player, and now MP3 players. People know loud music is bad for their hearing. But they don’t notice because it is not an instant result. Hearing loss is a damage that accumulates over time that develops from age and the noise in our daily lives. It is advanced by loud music and noise. Music players get blamed, because with headphones the music is pumped right into your ear. If the person next to you can hear what you are listening through your headphones , then your music is too loud. Loud music in a bar or dance club can also damage your hearing if it is too loud.

This same old story seems to resurface every few years, or when a new music player comes out. So you cannot say that you were not warned. Ultimately it is up to the user to protect their own hearing and if it is in their control, be considerate of the hearing of others. If you are a club owner, keep the music at appropriate volumes.

Finis has announced their new MP3 player. Sure there are a bunch of MP3 players on the market to choose from, but what is special about this one? The main selling point of this player is that it is fully waterproof, even down to the ear buds. The XtreaMP3.1G by Finis is aimed at people who want to hear music while they swim, snowboard, run, cycle, skateboard, snorkel, and any sport where there is the potential of getting wet or absorbing a good deal of shock. The player is designed to avoid any problems from water, sweat, and movement. It is said to be submersible up to fifteen feet of water.

The XtreaMP3.1G holds a gigabyte of data, which figures out to around two hundred and forty songs. So there is not a whole lot of storage when compared to other available MP3 players. The usual file types of MP3 and WMA are supported. File transfer and recharging are done via the USB port. It also comes with a neoprene armband. The asking price for this waterproof device is $149.99. It is pricier for a player of its storage capacity, but you know you are paying for the waterproofing.

While listening to music during certain activities may be fine, the aim of this player is for events that require a person’s full concentration. Is it wise to distract yourself with music that may interfere with your concentration? It does sound neat, though I must wonder how well the headphones stay on when one is swimming. I know the ear buds of my player never could handle the motion of running, as they always came flying out.

Waterproof items always have that appeal, whether they be watches, cameras, and now MP3 players. So eventually we should start seeing some waterproof cell phones.

Tips for Choosing an MP3 Player

 

There are a variety of MP3 players available on the market. The ultimate goal is to choose the player that is best for you, or the person you are buying it for. First of all, you should decide what the main purpose of the player is going to be. In most cases it will be for music playback. Some players have the capability of video playback. If you are looking for that feature you should consider an mp3 player with a lot of storage space. The focus of this post is going to be on the player itself.

Some Points to consider:

The two kinds of memory that are in use are hard drives and flash memory. The tradeoff between the two is durability and storage size. Hard drives come in large storage sizes, but they have moving parts. Therefore dropping or shaking of the player can damage them or cause music skipping. Flash memory has no moving parts, so movement of the player shouldn’t disturb the playback. The drawback is that flash memory is still more expensive than hard drives, so currently flash memory players don’t have as much storage space as the less expensive hard drives.

The other feature you want to research a bit is the file formats supported by the player. Virtually all music players support the MP3 file format.  While those made to support Windows formats also support the Windows Media Audio (WMA) format. If you go for the iPod or other Apple players, they use the AAC format. If you already have a good-sized music collection, be mindful of the format it is in. The supported file format can potentially limit where you buy your music online. Most people are fine with the MP3 format, while the audiophiles out there may want something a little fancier.

Lego MP3 Player

The next MP3 player I want to add to my collection is the LEGO MP3 player available at ThinkGeek.com. That is if they ever get it back in stock. As it advertises, who needs a docking station? You can build this player into any LEGO creation you have made. Maybe it is just that part of me that is a big kid, but you never get tired of playing with LEGO bricks. Many countless days were spent building cities and other creations.

Enough of my past time, lets get on to the MP3 player. From the specs given on the ThinkGeek.com website, the player has:

• Two Gigabytes of memory. That’s about five hundred songs.
• A rechargeable battery with eight hours of playback.
• A USB 2.0, Type B mini-USB port
• A 3.5mm headphone jack
• It weighs half a pound
• It measures 1.6 by 0.6 by 2.2 inches
• Has support for MP3 and WMA files.
• Includes Headphones and a USB cable.
• The software is already built into the unit.

 

Being that small of a unit I imagine that the screen can be hard to read. And according to some reviews I’ve come across, that is the case. It has some picture viewing capability, but not that it would be worth it on such a small screen. The main use is music and why shouldn’t it be? That is the main function of an MP3 player. The main appeal of this player is of course the nostalgia factor for all the people that grew up with LEGOS and the kids who are currently enjoying them. So all in all, it appears to be a fun unit.

Sony Walkman S-Series Video MP3 Player

Model number: NWZ-S545BLK

 

Whenever I hear Sony Walkman, I picture a cassette player. As it progressed from a giant brick of a player to a smaller and smaller form, until cassette tapes went out of style. Even though it seems odd to see an MP3 player called a Walkman, it is understandable. It is still a known name for Sony products.

This new entry into the MP3 player world has many wonderful features to offer.

Features such as, an FM tuner, MP3 playback, Video playback, built in speakers, alarm clock, voice recording, and a 2.4” LCD screen. The supported format for music files are MP3, AAC, WMA (DRM), and Linear PCM. Supported video file formats are AVC, MPEG 4, and WMV (DRM). The Sony S-Series Walkman comes in sizes of 8 GB and 16 GB models and colored red or black. The battery is said to last forty-two hours for music playback and six and half hours for video playback.

Some of the drawbacks seen from reading the specs are as follows. The Walkman’s software only supports the Windows operating system, namely the various versions of Windows XP and Windows Vista. Which effectively cuts out a portion of potential customers. But they end the System Requirements with a question mark, so maybe they just haven’t tested it with other operating systems. The headphones double as the radio antenna, which may be annoying if you want to have a clean look while using the external speakers. All of the software is built into the player, so you have no backup if the player eventually malfunctions.

The reviews for the Sony Walkman are overall positive. One of the main gripes seems to be that the screen scratches too easily and that the body feels flimsy, since it is just plastic.

 

Roadmaster (USA) Corp has announced two new car stereos that have a built in docking station for your iPod. The VRVD400IV and the VR100IA.

Both models feature the internal docking station, a detachable faceplate, subwoofer line out, subwoofer control, Electric Shock Protection, a remote control, SD/MMC card slots, USB port, automatic antenna activation, and of course support for MP3/WMA music files.

 The VRVD400IV is the fancier of the two models, as it features: A three inch LCD color monitor, video file support, and RCA outs for External Amplifiers. These units are compatible with the following iPod models: iPod 4G, 4G Photo and Color, 5G, the Classic and 2GB Classic, the Mini and 2 GB mini, all four generations of Nanos, and the 1 GB and 2GB iPod Touch.

The distribution of these units is going to start at Wal-Mart stores and work its way outward.

You can view both of these stereo units at the Road Master USA website.

VRVD400IV - iPod® Video MP3 Player AM/FM Stereo

http://roadmasterusa.com/product.php?p=VRVD400IV

VR100IA - iPod® MP3 Player AM/FM Stereo

http://roadmasterusa.com/product.php?p=VR100IA

Way back in the infancy of MP3 players, I happened to win one in a drawing at work. Though it would be considered nothing now, at the time I believe it was a good mid-range MP3 player. What device was it you ask? The iRiver iFP-340 and it had a whole 64 megabytes of memory. So it held about 12 or more songs, depending on file size. The player had a built-in microphone for voice recording. It could play music in the MP3 and WMA format, but you could store any kind of files on it. The best feature was that it ran off a single AA battery. Sure it might run down fast, but if you’re using rechargeable batteries who cares. There would be no need to get your battery serviced. And what kind of power did it need anyways; it just had a little black text lcd screen, with a blue backlight.

The included software was also easy to use. It was just a basic import/export system.

No constant upgrade request boxes, like I get with iTunes. And it used the generic mini-USB plug. No unit specific connectors, which they would try to charge an arm and a leg for later on. No I’m not trying to bash iPod, I like their products too. But those little things do wear on us consumers. An outlet adapter is $30, seriously?

I just wanted to take a trip down memory lane, but it really wasn’t that long ago. I mean it was only 2003. So six years, almost seven. The poor old iRiver just sits in my drawer now, untouched for the last few years. I’ll put it to use again one of these days.

If you don't want to bring your ipod with you everywhere or have it in the car all of the time, there is another option. Many of the new car stereos feature a USB port in which you can attach a USB flash drive with MP3 files and play music directly off of that. That is a great and cheaper alternative than getting an MP3 player. Why travel with your expensive MP3 player when flash drives are a dime a dozen. This is what I will be looking for in my next car stereo. I came across a video showing the use of a flash drive with a car stereo. Enjoy. =)

I've mentioned the FM transmitter method before, but there are other ways to hook up an IPOD in your car.